State v. Hinkle, Appeal No. 2017AP1416-CR

• Citation: 2018 WI App 67,384 Wis.2d 612,921 N.W.2d 219
• Decision Date: 31 October 2018
• Docket Number: Appeal No. 2017AP1416-CR
• Parties: STATE of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Matthew C. HINKLE, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Wisconsin

384 Wis.2d 612

921 N.W.2d 219

2018 WI App 67

STATE of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.Matthew C. HINKLE, Defendant-Appellant.^†

Appeal No. 2017AP1416-CR

Court of Appeals of Wisconsin.

Oral Argument June 19, 2018

Opinion Filed October 31, 2018

On behalf of the defendant-appellant, the cause was submitted on the briefs of Christina Starner of Green Bay.

On behalf of the plaintiff-respondent, the cause was submitted on the briefs of Aaron R. O’Neil, assistant attorney general, and Brad D. Schimel, attorney general.

Before Neubauer, C.J., Reilly, P.J., and Hagedorn, J.

NEUBAUER, C.J.

¶ 1 Matthew C. Hinkle appeals from his judgment of conviction and an order denying his postconviction motion arguing that (1) the circuit court exercising adult criminal jurisdiction lacked jurisdiction over him, a juvenile, and (2) his trial counsel’s assistance was ineffective because she failed to object to the criminal court’s jurisdiction. We conclude a waiver of jurisdiction by a circuit court exercising juvenile jurisdiction in Milwaukee County in another matter for previous criminal offenses pursuant to WIS. STAT. § 938.18 (2015-16)¹ satisfied the requirement of a waiver by "the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under" WIS. STAT. ch. 938 to give "exclusive original jurisdiction" to the circuit court exercising criminal jurisdiction in Fond du Lac County pursuant to WIS. STAT. § 938.183(1)(b).² We therefore affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 In July 2015, Hinkle, who was sixteen years old at the time, stole a car in Milwaukee and drove it to Fond du Lac. Once there, Hinkle led police on a high-speed chase after they tried to arrest him. Hinkle hit other cars and eventually crashed. After fleeing on foot, he was caught with the help of a canine police officer.

¶ 3 Delinquency petitions against Hinkle were filed in both Milwaukee and Fond du Lac Counties, along with petitions seeking waiver into adult criminal court. Hinkle was also criminally charged in Fond du Lac County with fleeing a traffic officer and three counts of hit-and-run accidents. No one disputes that the adult criminal court of Fond du Lac County had jurisdiction over Hinkle for these traffic charges under WIS. STAT. § 938.17.

¶ 4 On October 28, 2015, the juvenile court in Milwaukee County, after a hearing, waived its jurisdiction over Hinkle per WIS. STAT. § 938.18, sending the matter to adult criminal court. In a criminal complaint, the State refiled the charges in Milwaukee County on November 19. The charges were robbery (use of force), operating a vehicle without consent, and misdemeanor theft.

¶ 5 On November 18 and 19, the juvenile court in Fond du Lac County concluded that, under WIS. STAT. § 938.183(1)(b), the waiver by the Milwaukee County court gave jurisdiction over Hinkle to the adult criminal court of Fond du Lac County. The court referred to the "once waived always waived" concept, meaning generally that a juvenile is subject to the jurisdiction of the criminal court when a juvenile court had previously waived its jurisdiction for prior criminal violations.

¶ 6 Hinkle’s counsel agreed with the court’s reading of the statute. When asked if Hinkle was contesting the court’s determination, counsel said, "[W]e are not really taking a position on it. It’s my understanding that it’s pretty much automatic, but he is not agreeing to the waiver and such."

¶ 7 Although the circuit court had orally decided Hinkle was subject to the exclusive original jurisdiction of the criminal court under WIS. STAT. § 938.183(1) and indicated that a formal waiver was no longer necessary, it nonetheless signed a written order waiving juvenile jurisdiction under WIS. STAT. § 938.18. The court checked a box on the form next to the statement, "The petition for waiver was not contested. The juvenile’s decision to not contest is a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary decision."

¶ 8 The State filed an amended information in Fond du Lac County. It contained the four traffic charges from the criminal complaint plus the fourteen nontraffic criminal charges that had been previously asserted in the delinquency petition. Hinkle and the State reached a plea agreement, resulting in a number of charges being dismissed but read in. Hinkle entered no contest pleas to the remaining charges.³

¶ 9 Hinkle filed a postconviction motion seeking to withdraw his pleas in Fond du Lac County on grounds that the criminal court lacked jurisdiction for the fourteen nontraffic criminal violations, and trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by having failed to object on that basis. Hinkle also asserted the written waiver order was flawed and invalid, and therefore Hinkle was not properly waived into criminal court.

¶ 10 At the motion hearing, Hinkle’s trial counsel testified she did not challenge the jurisdiction of the criminal court because she did not believe she had valid grounds to do so. Hinkle testified his counsel told him that "since I was waived in Milwaukee County, that it was automatic. I was automatically waived in Fond du Lac County." He stated he would not have accepted the plea bargain if he had known the nontraffic criminal violations were not properly in criminal court.

¶ 11 In denying the motion, the circuit court saw no basis in WIS. STAT. § 938.183(1)(b) that required, as Hinkle contended, the jurisdictional waiver to have occurred in the same county as the criminal court. Because trial counsel correctly interpreted the statute, the court concluded that her assistance was not deficient. Hinkle appeals.

DISCUSSION

Standards of Review and Rules of Statutory Construction

¶ 12 Interpreting a statute presents a question of law, which we review de novo. State v. Buchanan , 2013 WI 31, ¶ 12, 346 Wis.2d 735, 828 N.W.2d 847.

Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are mixed questions of fact and law. State v. Erickson , 227 Wis.2d 758, 768, 596 N.W.2d 749 (1999). Under that standard of review, the circuit court’s findings of fact will not be disturbed unless they are clearly erroneous, but whether counsel was ineffective based on these facts is subject to de novo review. Id . ; State v. Balliette , 2011 WI 79, ¶¶ 18-19, 336 Wis.2d 358, 805 N.W.2d 334.

¶ 13 Statutory construction begins with the statute’s language, and if the language is unambiguous, a court applies the plain language to the facts of the case. See State v. Hemp , 2014 WI 129, ¶ 13, 359 Wis.2d 320, 856 N.W.2d 811. Courts examine the language in context and read it using common, ordinary, and accepted meaning. State v. Hanson , 2012 WI 4, ¶ 16, 338 Wis.2d 243, 808 N.W.2d 390. We construe the terms of the statute in a manner that "avoid[s] absurd, unreasonable, or implausible results and results that are clearly at odds with the legislature’s purpose." Hemp , 359 Wis.2d 320, ¶ 13, 856 N.W.2d 811 (citation omitted). "We favor an interpretation that fulfills the statute’s purpose." Hanson , 338 Wis.2d 243, ¶ 17, 808 N.W.2d 390.

The General Law of Jurisdiction over Juvenile Offenders

¶ 14 In general, a juvenile court has exclusive jurisdiction over any juvenile ten years of age or older alleged to be delinquent. WIS. STAT. § 938.12(1). There are, however, statutory exceptions that allow a juvenile to be charged in criminal court. Id. ; see WIS. STAT. §§ 938.17, 938.18, 938.183.

¶ 15 Under WIS. STAT. § 938.17(1), a criminal court generally has exclusive jurisdiction over a juvenile sixteen years of age or older for certain traffic violations. Hinkle was charged, as noted, with four such violations in a criminal complaint in Fond du Lac County. These charges are not at issue.

¶ 16 Under WIS. STAT. § 938.18, a juvenile court may, upon petition, waive its jurisdiction over a juvenile under certain circumstances, sending the juvenile offender to criminal court. If the defendant challenges the petition for waiver, an evidentiary hearing is held. Sec. 938.18(3)(b), (4)(b). If there is no challenge, the court must ensure that the no-challenge decision was made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. Sec. 938.18(4)(c). The court bases a waiver determination on criteria specified in § 938.18(5). If the court determines waiver is appropriate, it will sign an order waiving juvenile court jurisdiction, and the matter is referred to the district attorney for appropriate criminal proceedings. Sec. 938.18(6).

¶ 17 Under WIS. STAT. § 938.183, the statute at issue here, a criminal court has exclusive original jurisdiction over a juvenile for two general types of circumstances: (1) if the juvenile is alleged to have committed certain serious violations (e.g., intentional homicide) or (2) if the juvenile has a certain criminal history, such as a prior waiver of juvenile jurisdiction. Central to this case is the latter circumstance, which is addressed by the statute as follows:

JUVENILES UNDER ADULT COURT JURISDICTION . Notwithstanding [ WIS. STAT. §§] 938.12(1) and 938.18, courts of criminal jurisdiction have exclusive original jurisdiction over ...:

....

(b) A juvenile who is alleged to have violated any state criminal law if the juvenile has been convicted of a previous violation following waiver of jurisdiction under [ WIS. STAT. §] 48.18, 1993 Stats., or [ WIS. STAT. §] 938.18 by the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter and [ WIS. STAT. ] ch. 48 or if the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter and ch. 48 has waived its jurisdiction over the juvenile for a previous violation and criminal proceedings on that previous violation are still pending.

Sec. 938.183(1).

Once the Milwaukee Juvenile Court Waived its Jurisdiction over Hinkle and the Charges were Refiled, the Fond du Lac Criminal Court had Exclusive Original Jurisdiction over him

¶ 18 According to Hinkle, the juvenile court in Fond du Lac County erred when it determined the waiver by the juvenile court in Milwaukee County satisfied the statute’s requirement of a waiver by "the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under" WIS. STAT. ch. 938. See WIS. STAT. § 938.183(1...